"I Didn't Trade Those Players": Tigers Owner Throws Deposed GM Under The Bus

Detroit Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch has made the decision that the team simply wasn't progressing, and needed a change. He says he's "looking forward" to the future. Thus, as we reported earlier today, general manger Al Avila is out after eight years at the helm.

But what we didn't expect was for the owner to come out and throw the deposed GM under the bus for past transgressions, like trading away Justin Verlander and JD Martinez. 

Wow.

Chris Ilitch on shedding payroll and trading away players like Justin Verlander and JD Martinez: "I didn't trade those players away. Right? Our general manager did." pic.twitter.com/yTuQodyVOO

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) August 10, 2022

Wow, indeed. 

We know Chris Ilitch isn’t a great public speaker and doesn’t anticipate questions that will be asked of him very well. Forget the sell the team stuff now. It’s not happening. What we all need to root for together is that he gets this hire right. The decade is at stake right now.

— tigermike1975 (@tigermike1975) August 10, 2022

Ilitch went on to make a bit more standard statements on the Avila firing and the search for a replacement.

Tigers owner Chris Ilitch comments on the firing of GM Al Avila. pic.twitter.com/ioifC17GA9

— FOX 2 Sports (@FOX2Sports) August 10, 2022

"This year it became evident that we did not make progress. Particularly at the major league level...   

"At this point... My focus is going forward.... This will be an exhaustive and thorough search... Who will I lean on? I'm going to tap into every resource at my disposal in this organization."

Included in that mix, apparently, will be manager AJ Hinch, who was brought in last year with great hopes of leading the Tigers into contention.